‘We spend a few months here cleaning up - the planet’s infrastructure is in ruins. The Chinese soldiers will need rounding up and shipping back to Earth to be exchanged for some trade deals, no doubt, and no doubt there’ll be a few die-hards out there to keep us busy. Then we’ll have a relief in place by fresh troops, and you’ll be shipped back to Earth never to see this place ever again.’
‘What about you?’ I asked, noticing that he hadn’t said ‘we’ when he’d mentioned us returning to Earth.
Ev smiled and looked out into the sea, ‘Beautiful isn’t it?’
‘Yeah.’
He looked at me, ‘On this planet, ‘freedom’ isn’t just a word. It isn’t called New Earth because of similarities with the home-world, it’s because people believe that this is where we can start again, and do things right.’
I laughed bitterly, ‘Well that hasn’t worked out very well, has it?’
‘And whose fault is that? The people who live here?’ He shook his head, ‘I’ve been all over this planet. There are no Chinese, or Europeans or Russians. They are one people, all yearning to be free to govern themselves in peace.’
‘What are you saying?’
‘It’s not over, Andy.’
Boots slapped and crashed in the water as the platoon charged us, whooping and cheering. They splashed and swore at each other, and one or two fell into the water and had to lift their respirators to let the water out.
‘I hope these canisters are waterproof!’ Somebody shouted, and we all laughed and joked until the boss ordered us back to the dropships.
#
Sergeant Evans’s prediction was right, we did indeed spend the next three months rebuilding the mess that the war had left behind - alongside a hostile civilian population. Several battalions of Chinese fought on in vast warren’s throughout the northern continent, but they eventually succumbed to starvation and surrendered.
Our ship had been destroyed, along with many others, and so the battalions were crammed into troopships to be transported victorious back to Earth - so that we might be paraded through Brussels. But our more severely injured comrades would be hidden away from the cameras.
Eventually I would meet Peters, Greggerson and Sam again, all of whom had survived their injuries, and I would keep in touch with them and the remainder of my platoon for the rest of my life. We had endured something that nobody on Earth could ever imagine, and it united us with a bond that could never be broken. We were more than just friends, we were brothers-in-arms, we were troopers.
As for Ev, he would disappear several days before the brigade were due to leave New Earth, and was never seen again. People outside the platoon would call him a deserter and a traitor for abandoning the Union at its time of triumph, running to hide in the warrens beneath Jersey City. But we who knew Sergeant Evans knew that he was no traitor. Perhaps maybe we would even see him again.
Because the battle for New Earth wasn’t over…
# # #
Also by the Author
LANCEJACK
Lancejack is Book Two in The Union Series. Book Three is planned for late 2013 and will be announced here: www.facebook.com/quality.ebooks Click ‘Like’ to be notified of all new releases.
Andy Moralee is no longer the young and terrified recruit who had last set foot upon New Earth two years ago. Decorated for his bravery during the final hours of the invasion and promoted to lance corporal, he is still troubled by his memories and haunted by nightmares. He finds himself unable to cope with life back on Earth, and so he returns to the red planet, the only place where he feels he belongs.
But New Earth has changed as well. A growing insurgency threatens to turn the planet into a battleground once again, but this time the enemy has the ability to melt away into the population, and even turn the Union's weapons against them. Nobody can be trusted, even old friends.
Quickly swept up in the gathering storm Andy finds himself in the command of a section that resents his early promotion, and during the battle that follows his leadership, his loyalty, and even his faith in his comrades are put to the ultimate test in the face of an enemy that will stop at nothing.
(Kindle edition published March 2013)
Direct Amazon Links:
www.amazon.com/dp/B00BZODJZS - US/Worldwide
www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00BZODJZS - UK
Amazon.com Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Outstanding, April 16, 2013
By Misico
This review is from: LANCEJACK (The Union Series) (Kindle Edition)
This second book is even better than the first if that is possible. The character development and fast action combine to make this a truly memorable series. I look forward to the next one.
***
5.0 out of 5 stars Great 2nd book and hope for a 3rd, April 14, 2013
By Theodore H Bertot
This review is from: LANCEJACK (The Union Series) (Kindle Edition)
This book was better than the first which I really enjoyed. I can't wait for the next book in the series. For a new author Philip is outstanding.
***
5.0 out of 5 stars Very good, April 11, 2013
By Martin "ten98" (Canberra, Australia)
This review is from: LANCEJACK (The Union Series) (Kindle Edition)
As an ex grunt, I found the book excellent. I have worked in both jungle and urban warfare, and it brought back a lot of memories. Waiting for the next one.
Published by The Electronic Book Company
www.theelectronicbookcompany.com
Language: UK English Edition
Copyright 2012 by Phillip Richards
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C.R.O.W. (The Union Series) Page 32
